Numbers 5:19

Good News Translation

Then the priest shall make the woman agree to this oath spoken by the priest: "If you have not committed adultery, you will not be harmed by the curse that this water brings.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The Kohen shall cause her to swear, and shall tell the woman, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you haven't gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.

King James Version
And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:

Lexham English Bible
Then the priest will make her swear an oath, and he will say to the woman, "If a man has not slept with you, and if you have not had an impurity affair under your husband, go unpunished from the waters of bitterness that brings this curse.

New Century Version
The priest will make her take an oath and ask her, "Has another man had sexual relations with you? Have you been unfaithful to your husband? If you haven't, this bitter water that brings a curse won't hurt you.

New English Translation
Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to her, "If no other man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband's authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.

Amplified Bible
'Then the priest shall have her take an oath and say to the woman, "If no man has lain with you and if you have not gone astray into uncleanness [while married], then be immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse;

New American Standard Bible
'And the priest shall have her take an oath and shall say to the woman, "If no man has had sexual relations with you and if you have not gone astray into uncleanness, as you are under the authority of your husband, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse;

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Priest shall charge her by an oth, and say vnto the woman, If no man haue lien with thee, neither thou hast turned to vncleannesse from thine husbande, be free from this bitter and cursed water.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the priest shall have her swear an oath and shall say to the woman, "If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray into defilement, being under the authority of your husband, be free from this water of bitterness that brings curses;

Complete Jewish Bible
The cohen will make her swear by saying to her, "If no man has gone to bed with you, if you have not gone astray to make yourself unclean while under your husband's authority, then be free from this water of embitterment and cursing.

Darby Translation
And the priest shall adjure her, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone astray in uncleanness, in being with another instead of thy husband, be free from this bitter water that bringeth the curse.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Then the priest will make the woman promise to tell the truth and say to her: ‘If you have not slept with another man, and if you have not sinned against your husband while you were married to him, then this water that causes trouble will not hurt you.

English Standard Version
Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse.

George Lamsa Translation
And the priest shall charge the woman by an oath, and say to her, If no man has lain with you besides your husband, and if you have not done wrong and become unclean, be absolved from these charges by this bitter water of testing;

Christian Standard Bible®
The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse.

Literal Translation
And the priest shall cause her to swear and shall say to the woman, If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to impurity under your husband, be free from these bitter waters which cause the curse.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf no man haue lye with the, and thou hast not gone asyde from thy hu?bande, to defyle thy self, then shall not these bytter cursinge waters hurte the.

American Standard Version
And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou have not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse.

Bible in Basic English
And he will make her take an oath, and say to her, If no man has been your lover and you have not been with another in place of your husband, you are free from this bitter water causing the curse;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the priest shall charge her by an othe, and say vnto the woman: If no man haue lyen with thee, neither hast gone aside to vncleannesse without thy husbande, then haue thou no harme of this bitter and cursed waters.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman: 'If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse;

King James Version (1611)
And the Priest shall charge her by an othe, and say vnto the woman, If no man haue lyen with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to vncleannesse with another in stead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the priest shall adjure her, and shall say to the woman, If no one has lain with thee, and if thou hast not transgressed so as to be polluted, being under the power of thy husband, be free from this water of the conviction that causes the curse.

English Revised Version
and the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse:

Berean Standard Bible
And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, 'If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband's authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he schal conioure hir, and schal seie, If an alien man slepte not with thee, and if thou art not defoulid in the forsakyng the bed of the hosebonde, these bittereste watris schulen not anoye thee, in to whiche Y haue gaderid togidere cursis;

Young's Literal Translation
`And the priest hath caused her to swear, and hath said unto the woman, If no man hath lain with thee, and if thou hast not turned aside [to] uncleanness under thy husband, be free from these bitter waters which cause the curse;

Update Bible Version
And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say to the woman, If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, [then] be innocent from this water of bitterness that causes the curse.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say to the woman, If no man hath lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness [with another] instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:

World English Bible
The priest shall cause her to swear, and shall tell the woman, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you haven't gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.

New King James Version
And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, "If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband's authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.

New Living Translation
The priest will then put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has had sex with you, and you have not gone astray and defiled yourself while under your husband's authority, may you be immune from the effects of this bitter water that brings on the curse.

New Life Bible
Then the religious leader will have her make a promise. He will say to the woman, "If no man has lain with you and if you have not turned away into sin, while under the power of your husband, this bitter water that brings punishment will not hurt you.

New Revised Standard
Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, "If no man has lain with you, if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while under your husband's authority, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings the curse.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and the priest shall put her on oath and shall say unto the woman: - If no man hath lain with thee, and if thou hast not turned aside in uncleanness, unto another instead of thy husband, be thou clear from this deadly water that causeth a curse.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he shall adjure her, and shall say: If another man hath not slept with thee, and if thou be not defiled by forsaking thy husband’s bed, these most bitter waters, on which I have heaped curses, shall not hurt thee.

Revised Standard Version
Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness, while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'The priest shall have her take an oath and shall say to the woman, "If no man has lain with you and if you have not gone astray into uncleanness, being under the authority of your husband, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse;

Contextual Overview

¹¹ The Lord commanded Moses ¹²to give the Israelites the following instructions. It may happen that a man becomes suspicious that his wife is unfaithful to him and has defiled herself by having intercourse with another man. But the husband may not be certain, for his wife may have kept it secret—there was no witness, and she was not caught in the act. Or it may happen that a husband becomes suspicious of his wife, even though she has not been unfaithful. ¹⁵ In either case the man shall take his wife to the priest. He shall also take the required offering of two pounds of barley flour, but he shall not pour any olive oil on it or put any incense on it, because it is an offering from a suspicious husband, made to bring the truth to light. ¹⁶ The priest shall bring the woman forward and have her stand in front of the altar. ¹⁷ He shall pour some holy water into a clay bowl and take some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tent of the Lord 's presence and put it in the water to make it bitter. ¹⁸ Then he shall loosen the woman's hair and put the offering of flour in her hands. In his hands the priest shall hold the bowl containing the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ Then the priest shall make the woman agree to this oath spoken by the priest: "If you have not committed adultery, you will not be harmed by the curse that this water brings. ²⁰ But if you have committed adultery, ²¹ may the Lord make your name a curse among your people. May he cause your genital organs to shrink and your stomach to swell up. ²² May this water enter your stomach and cause it to swell up and your genital organs to shrink." The woman shall respond, "I agree; may the Lord do so."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

charge her: Matthew 26:63

with another: or, being in the power of thy husband, Heb. under thy husband. Romans 7:2,*Gr.

Reciprocal: Numbers 5:12 - General Numbers 5:28 - And if Numbers 5:29 - when a wife goeth Deuteronomy 21:7 - General Joshua 6:26 - adjured 2 Chronicles 6:22 - the oath

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the priest shall charge her by an oath,.... Or give her her oath:

and say unto the woman, if no man hath lain with thee: besides her husband:

and thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness [with another] instead of thy husband; which is but another phrase expressive of the same thing, the sin of adultery:

be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse; if this is the case, it shall produce no bitter effects, or bring any curse upon thee.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The trial of jealousy. Since the crime of adultery is especially defiling and destructive of the very foundations of social order, the whole subject is dealt with at a length proportionate to its importance. The process prescribed has lately been strikingly illustrated from an Egyptian “romance,” which refers to the time of Rameses the Great, and may therefore well serve to illustrate the manners and customs of the Mosaic times. This mode of trial, like several other ordinances, was adopted by Moses from existing and probably very ancient and widely spread institutions.

Numbers 5:15

The offering was to be of the cheapest and coarsest kind, barley (compare 2 Kings 7:1, 2 Kings 7:16, 2 Kings 7:18), representing the abused condition of the suspected woman. It was, like the sin-offering Leviticus 5:11, to be made without oil and frankincense, the symbols of grace and acceptableness. The woman herself stood with head uncovered Numbers 5:18, in token of her shame.

Numbers 5:17

The dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle - To set forth the fact that the water was endued with extraordinary power by Him who dwelt in the tabernacle. Dust is an emblem of a state of condemnation Genesis 3:14; Micah 7:17.

Numbers 5:19

Gone aside ... - literally, “gone astray from” thy husband by uncleanness; compare Hosea 4:12.

Numbers 5:23

Blot them out with the bitter water - In order to transfer the curses to the water. The action was symbolic. Travelers speak of the natives of Africa as still habitually seeking to obtain the full force of a written charm by drinking the water into which they have washed it.

Numbers 5:24

Shall cause the woman to drink - Thus was symbolised both her full acceptance of the hypothetical curse (compare Ezekiel 3:1-3; Jeremiah 15:16; Revelation 10:9), and its actual operation upon her if she should be guilty (compare Psalms 109:18).

Numbers 5:26

The memorial thereof - See the marginal reference. “Memorial” here is not the same as “memorial” in Numbers 5:15.

Numbers 5:27

Of itself, the drink was not noxious; and could only produce the effects here described by a special interposition of God. We do not read of any instance in which this ordeal was resorted to: a fact which may be explained either (with the Jews) as a proof of its efficacy, since the guilty could not be brought to face its terrors at all, and avoided them by confession; or more probably by the license of divorce tolerated by the law of Moses. Since a husband could put away his wife at pleasure, a jealous man would naturally prefer to take this course with a suspected wife rather than to call public attention to his own shame by having recourse to the trial of jealousy. The trial by red water, which bears a general resemblance to that here prescribed by Moses, is still in use among the tribes of Western Africa.